1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus. Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-117171, filed on May 25, 2011, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally known endoscope apparatuses include ones for observing places that an observer is unable to see directly with his or her eyes such as the inside of an observation target.
For example. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-321492 describes an endoscope apparatus including: a long insertion portion; a bending portion provided at a distal end of the insertion portion; and an operation portion provided at a proximal end of the insertion portion. The operation portion of the endoscope apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application. First Publication No. 2004-321492 includes: a bending lever for bending the bending portion through an inclination operation; a frictional force retention portion for retaining an operation position of the bending portion with a frictional force; and a retention state release portion for releasing the bending lever retained at the operation position.